Ski pole

ABSTRACT

A ski pole that includes a novel and improved handle and shaft, and wherein there is provided a strap which is attached to the handle by means of a plug, there being a ski pole basket or ring at the bottom of the shaft.

United States Patent Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented SKI POLE Ivor J. Allsop 2194 N. Shore Road, Bellingham, Wash. 98225 Apr. 25, 1969 June 1, 1971 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

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[50] FieldofSearch 280N137 [56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 133,667 6/1933 Austria 280/1 1.37BH

Primary Examiner-Leo Friaglia Assistant Examiner-Milton L. Smith Att0rneySherman Levy ABSTRACT: A ski pole that includes a novel and improved handle and shaft, and wherein there is provided a strap which is attached to the handle by means of a plug, there being a ski pole basket or ring at the bottom of the shaft.

- v EB Jun 1 nn 3,582,100 SHEET l 0F 2 mvsmon Ivorz. 3'. Auusob BY Q i I9 ATTORNEY PATENTEU-Jun 1|sn $5 2 100 Y sum 2 UF 2 Q INVENTOR lvoe. I. ALI-SOP 6 ATTORNEY SK] POLE This invention relates to a ski pole, and more particularly to a ski pole that has or includes a shaft provided with a bend, wherein there is also provided a cinch strap, and grip, the ski pole also having an'improved ring or basket on the lower end thereof.

An object of the present invention is to provide a ski pole which assures that the pole can be fastened accurately to the hand, and wherein the skier will have positive control of the pole, the ski pole also including a plug for fastening the strap in place, and wherein there is provided a basket or ring at the bottom of the pole which possesses advantages over prior types of such devices.

Still another object is to provide such a ski pole that is rugged in structure and which is economical to manufacture and efficient in operation.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification and claims, wherein like parts are referred to by like reference character, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the ski pole of the present invention.

.FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing certain of the parts separated for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the handle and plug for attaching the strap to the handle or hand grip.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the basket or ring on the-lower portion of the ski pole.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ring.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the completed basket.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIG. 7.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the numeral 20 indicates the ski pole of the present invention which comprises a shaft 21 that includes a major straight portion 19, as well as an upper portion 22, that is arranged at an angle of approximately 5 with respect to the straight portion 19. This bend is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, wherein the-numeral 23 indicates approximately the point at which the bend inthe shaft is made. The numeral 24 indicates the approximate 5 angle between the longitudinal axis 25 and the portion 19 of the shaft 21.

The numeral 26 indicates a handgrip that is adapted to be made of a suitable material such as a plastic substance, and the handgrip 26 is provided with an inner recess 27 that is arranged substantially concentric with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handgrip 26. The recess or chamber 27 has its uppenportion terminating at a point 28 that is adjacent the upperend of the handgrip 26, FIG. 3, and the upper portion 22 of the shaft 21 is adapted to be snugly received in the recess or chamber 27. The handgrip has finger-engaging cutouts or recessed portions 29 on one side thereof which are arranged generally in the direction of the bend of the lower portion of the shaft. The opposite side of the handgrip 26 is of increased thickness as at 30 adjacent the lower end of the handgrip 26. The handgrip 26 is provided with a slot 31 therein adjacent the upper end thereof, and the slot 31 terminates at a point 32 that is spaced inwardly from the side of the edge portion that has the finger-engaging recesses 29 therein. The numeral 33 indicates a strap which has a looped portion 36, and the strap 33 further includes superposed end sections 34 that snugly fit within the slot 31. The end sections 34 have a plurality of aligned openings 35 therein for a purpose to be later described.

There is provided in the upper end portion of the handgrip 26 an aperture that is indicated generally by the numeral 37, and the aperture 37 includes an upper enlarged portion 38 that is offset from the center of the handgrip 26 towards the edge of the handgrip that is opposite the edge having the recessed portion 29 therein. The aperture 37 further includes a cylindrical bore 39 that establishes communication between the upper enlarged portion 38 and the chamber or recessed portion 27. The numeral 40 indicates a peg or plug made of a suitable material such as plastic, and the plug 40 includes an enlarged head 41 that is seated snugly in the recessed portion 38, and the plug 40 includes a stem or shank 18 that extends through the bore 39, and certain of the registering apertures 35 in the strap 33. There is provided or formed on the lower end of the plug 40 a tapered tip or end portion 42 which provides a shoulder or flange for coaction with and for selectively engaging the adjacent portion 28 of the handgrip 26 whereby the parts will be maintained in their proper assembled relation.

The 'ski pole of the present invention further includes a ring or basket 43 that is arranged on the lower end of the shaft 21 adjacent the pointed lower tip 44. The basket 43, FIGS. 48, is adapted to be molded of a suitable plastic material, and the basket 43 includes a ring member 45 that has a tapered outer surface or inclined outer surface 46. The ring member 45 includes an inwardly projecting generally circular flange 47 that has a plurality of spaced apart openings 48 therein and the flange 47 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart enlargements 49 that have apertures or openings 50 therein, FIG. 5.

The numeral 51 indicates a support member for the basket, and the support member 51 includes a centrally disposed hub portion 52 that has an opening 53 therein for receiving the lower end portion of the shaft 21. The support member 51 includes radially disposed spokes 54 that are integral with the hub 52, and there is also provided an outer rim 55 of circular formation that is integral with the outer ends of the spokes 54, and portions of the plastic rim 55 are securely joined to the ring member 45 due to the fact that portions of the rim 55 are molded in such a manner that portions of the plastic project through the openings 48 and 50 to form a unitary device.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a ski pole which is an improvement over prior ski poles, and wherein there is provided a ski pole that has improved features over the ski pole grip shown and described in prior pending Pat. application Ser. No. 740,745.

In use, with the parts arranged as shown in the drawings, it will be seen that the ski pole 20 of the present invention includes an improved handgrip as well as a shaft 21 having a bend therein, and wherein there is also provided the plug 40 and its associated parts for connecting the cinch strap 33 to the handgrip 26 in a novel manner. In addition, there is provided the basket 43 which has certain important advantages and features not heretofore available.

It is to be understood that the parts can be made of any suitable material and in different shapes and sizes as desired or required.

The present invention possesses certain important differences or advantages over prior devices, and for example with the grip and strap of the present invention the pole is fastened securely to the hand, and it restricts the action when planting the pole for a turn. The conventional strap is not fastened to the bottom of the grip, and applicant has discovered that by incorporating a forward bend in the shaft it enables the skier, and especially the slalom racer, to have positive control of his pole and still be able to place it far enough forward (normally at about the tip of the ski). Without this bend it has been found that the human anatomy at the wrist does not allow the pole to plant forward enough. This is due to the fact that the wrist will only bend at just slightly more than right angles to the forearm, whereas it will bend almost parallel to the forearm in the back position. Thus, applicants in vention helps nature by making a slightforward bend in the shaft.

In addition, with the conventional ski pole strap, thepole is actually thrown forward and at that particular instant the skier loses some control of his or her pole. The ski pole of the present invention includes the plug 40 which fastens the strap 33 to the pole. This has important advantages over any other construction such as those which use a screw since such a screw has a tendency to come ioose and wind out. Thus, a more positive securing means is provided, and the normal method of fastening the strap to the pole is with a screw into a wooden or metal plug that is inserted into the ski pole. The advantages of the plug which fastens into the grip itself are that the grip is constructed so that the end of the plug is received by the grip and thus does not require a wooden plug or metal piug in the pole itself for retaining the grip and the strap. Thus, the advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the necessity for a plug in the pole and is therefore easier and quicker to assemble and also provides ease and rapidity for changing of straps. In addition, this construction is considerably less expense and is also advantageous to dealers who want to shorten the pole. Ail they have to do is slip the grip off which is held on the pole by friction fit only. After the grip has been slipped off, the pole can be cut and the grip slipped back on again, and this is to be contrasted with existing methods that require a person to unscrew a securing element such as a screw and take the grip off and cut the pole off, replace the plug, wooden plug or metal plug, then replace by putting the grip back on the strap and the screw into the grip and the strap and then into the wooden plug in the pole.

The ski pole of the present invention further includes the ski pole basket or ring 43 at the bottom of the pole, and the iniportant aspect of this basket or ring is the way the inner ring 55 or spokes 54 are attached to the ring member 45. Many attempts have been made in the past to provide a satisfactory method of attaching these parts to the outer ring member without wrapping the spokes around the outer ring, and the present invention provides such a satisfactory soiution to this problem. Thus, with the present invention the inner spoke material is mechanically attached by being molded through the holes 48 and 50 on the fiange 47 of the outer ring 45, and thus a troublesome problem in the industry has been solved with the present invention.

It is to be noted that an important aspect or feature of the present invention is that the grip itself curves back towards the skiers arm at the base of the grip, and this prohibits the hand from slipping down and off the grip. This is especially true when flipping or pushing the pole point forward, which is done on each turn in modern skiing techniques. Prior devices have utilized a construction wherein the grip is cut away toward the pole rather than back toward the hand and thus has a tendency to allow the hand to slip down off the grip and around the grip, and this defeated the purpose of putting the pole through the grip at an angle, whereas the configuration of the present invention makes the angulation of the pole work much more efficiently.

Many changes, modifications, alterations, variations and other uses and application of the subject device will, however, become apparent those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawing. All such changes, modifications, alterations, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.

What I claim is:

1. A ski pole comprising a shaft having an upper portion, a major straight portion arranged at approximately 5 with respect to the upper portion, a handgrip having a chamber therein for snugly receiving the upper portion ef the shaft, said handgrip having finger-engaging recesses on one edge thereof, the opposite edge of the handgrip being of increased thickness 3 at the lower end of the handgrip, said handgrip having a slot therein adjacent the upper end thereof, a strap having a looped portion, and said strap further including superposed end sections snugly positioned in the slot, there being a plurality of aligned openings in the end sections of said strap, there being an aperture in the upper portion of said handle, said aperture including an upper enlarged portion that is offset from the center of the handgrip towards the opposite side of the handgrip that has the recessed finger-engaging portions,

there being a cylindrical bore establishin communication between the enlarged portion and the chem er, a plug having an enlarged head snugly mounted in the enlarged portion of the aperture, said plug further including a cylindrical shank which extends through said bore, and said plug having a tapered lower end which has a shoulder for coaction with the adjacent portion of the handgrip.

2. In a ski pole, a shaft, a basket on the lower end of said shaft, said basket including a ring member having an outer inclined surface, and said ring member having an inwardly disposed circular flange provided with a plurality of spaced apart openings therein, said flange having spaced apart enlarged portions having openings therein, a support member including a central hub provided with an aperture for receiving therein the lower end of said shaft, radially disposed spokes integral with said hub, and a circular rim integral with the outer portions of said spokes and molded to the flange through the openings therein.

3. in a ski pole, a shaft having a bend therein, a handgrip mounted on the upper end of said shaft, a strap detachably connected to said handgrip, a nonthreaded peg for selectively maintaining the strap connected to the handgrip, a basket on the lower end of the shaft, the basket including an outer ring member provided with a flange and openings therein and spokes and a ring molded into positive engagement with the flange and openings. 

1. A ski pole comprising a shaft having an upper portion, a major straight portion arranged at approximately 5* with respect to the upper portion, a handgrip having a chamber therein for snugly receiving the upper portion of the shaft, said handgrip having finger-engaging recesses on one edge thereof, the opposite edge of the handgrip being of increased thickness at the lower end of the handgrip, said handgrip having a slot therein adjacent the upper end thereof, a strap having a looped portion, and said strap further including superposed end sections snugly positioned in the slot, there being a plurality of aligned openings in the end sections of said strap, there being an aperture in the upper portion of said handle, said aperture including an upper enlarged portion that is offset from the center of the handgrip towards the opposite side of the handgrip that has the recessed fingerengaging portions, there being a cylindrical bore establishing communication between the enlarged portion and the chamber, a plug having an enlarged head snugly mounted in the enlarged portion of the aperture, said plug further including a cylindrical shank which extends through said bore, and said plug having a tapered lower end which has a shoulder for coaction with the adjacent portion of the handgrip.
 2. In a ski pole, a shaft, a basket on the lower end of said shaft, said basket including a ring member having an outer inclined surface, and said ring member having an inwardly disposed circular flange provided with a plurality of spaced apart openings therein, said flange having spaced apart enlarged portions having openings therein, a support member including a central hub provided with an aperture for receiving therein the lower end of said shaft, radially disposed spokes integral with said hub, and a circular rim integral with the outer portions of said spokes and molded to the flange through the openings therein.
 3. In a ski pole, a shaft having a bend therein, a handgrip mounted on the upper end of said shaft, a strap detachably connected to said handgrip, a nonthreaded peg for selectively maintaining the strap connected to the handgrip, a basket on the lower end of the shaft, the basket including an outer ring member provided with a flange and openings therein and spokes and a ring molded into positive engagement with the flange and openings. 